When business aviation services group Jet Aviation (Stand P312) first established its Asia Pacific headquarters at Singapore’s Seletar Airport back in 1996, it was far from clear how market prospects would unfold. Twenty years on, Jet Aviation president Robert Smith feels the company’s far-sighted investment has been more than vindicated with plenty more growth in private and corporate aviation anticipated in this part of the world.
In 2014, Jet Aviation completed a major expansion that almost tripled the size of its presence at Seletar, with the addition of a 5,017-sq-meter (54,000-sq-ft) maintenance hangar that has freed up space in the adjoining hangar for covered aircraft parking. Last year the company completed an extensive refurbishment of its FBO, which provided ground handling for around 1,500 movements in 2015. It is one of six FBOs at Seletar, which is building a new executive terminal, and Jet Aviation also offers handling at Singapore’s larger Changi International Airport.
“The first few years were a struggle but we made the move to the Asia Pacific region as a long-term strategy, and it paid off,” Smith told AIN. “We were there as the market started to improve in the early 2000s.”
More Asia Pacific expansion is on the horizon in the shape of a new 3,995-sq-meter (43,000-sq-ft) maintenance facility and hangar in Macau that is due to open in the second quarter of this year. This will provide much needed extra capacity given that nearby Hong Kong International Airport, where Jet Aviation already has a significant maintenance and aircraft management operation, is very congested.
Jet Aviation has increased its fleet of managed aircraft across the Asia Pacific region to 31 jets, including four Gulfstream G650s, nine G550s, seven G450s, and two G200s, as well a Bombardier Global Express, three Global 6000s, two Global 5000s, a Challenger 605, a Dassault Falcon 900LX and a Falcon 7X. The Asian Business Aviation Association recently honored the company as the best aircraft management company in the region.
The new Jet Aviation Macau operation will provide aircraft maintenance, cleaning and parking. It is now covered by the Hong Kong facility’s Dassault Falcon authorized line service center approval, which has just been renewed. The Macau site will also serve as a Gulfstream authorized service center and in addition to Part 145 approval from the Macau authorities, will also be covered by equivalent FAA and EASA clearance.
But Singapore remains the hub of Jet Aviation’s maintenance capability in Asia, holding approvals from the local civil aviation authority, as well as from the U.S., Europe, China, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Australia. The facility mainly specializes in working on Gulfstream jets, as well as the Boeing Business Jet family and most Bombardier Challenger and Global Express types. This year, it plans to add Gulfstream’s G200 and G280 to its support roster.
According to Jet Aviation Singapore vice president and general manager John Riggir, getting Chinese maintenance approval has been a major breakthrough in attracting customers from the country’s growing fleet. To achieve this it had to first go to special lengths to get equivalent Singaporean approval, which was by no means straightforward since there are no business jets on the country’s register.
The facility provides everything from line maintenance up to heavy 8C checks. The latter work is often done in conjunction with cabin refurbishments, for which it has a comprehensive array of skills including cabinetry, upholstery and painting. The operation also has around 15 aircraft for which it provides continuous airworthiness maintenance organization cover.
“The number of business jets in this region has increased a lot in recent years, and we have also seen a migration to larger aircraft,” Riggir said. “Owners who previously had small turboprops are now in Gulfstreams and Globals.”
Despite the global economy’s troublesome start to 2016, Jet Aviation remains optimistic about prospects for further business aviation growth in this part of the world. “Overall, we are not concerned about long-term prospects,” said Smith. “Yes, there is some uncertainty, but flight activity is still growing in the region, but not at the same pace as three years ago. After all, the Chinese economy is still growing, there has just been a reduction in the level of growth.”
In February, during the Singapore Airshow, Jet Aviation celebrated the anniversary with a lavish party for clients, employees, OEM representatives, vendors, media and members of the financial community. In a welcome speech, Smith thanked Jet Aviation Singapore’s “founding father” Ruedi Kraft, who is now the company’s vice president for business development completions, as well as Stefan Benz, the company’s senior vice president for regional MRO and FBO operations, and John Riggir.
“Jet Aviation Singapore not only survived the financial crisis throughout Asia in the early 1990s, it bounced back and grew stronger,” said the company in a statement. “Since 2010 alone, it has tripled its capacity and more than doubled its workforce. And we’re exceptionally proud to note that 75 percent of our employees have been hired locally.”
Hong Kong Challenges
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, Jet Aviation’s team are making the best of a crowded situation from their premises within the Hong Kong Business Aviation Center. Jet Aviation Hong Kong managing director Nigel Parker, told AIN that space limitations at Hong Kong International Airport can make it hard to give operators the flexibility they need. These frustrations are what have prompted it to set up an FBO across the water in Macau–which (along with Zhuhai in mainland China) will be accessible by road once the causeway is completed in 2017.
Parker, who was the first Jet Aviation employee in Hong Kong (it now has 60 there) said that it “can take six hours to get approval to cross the runway” from the airport authorities, which favor commercial air transport. In addition, only one business aircraft an hour is allowed to cross. On top of that, he said due to excessive demand for the airport at Chep Lap Kok, “Lots of operators are being turned away as there are no slots.”
Macau, Parker said, was also “crowded” but represented a better option, even though it can cost around HK$15,000 (almost $2,000) each way for ferry flights–there are strict limits on how long aircraft can stay at the airport, due to lack of parking–and there is rarely a spare slot at HKBAC, which is usually jammed full of large business jets (as can be seen on Google Earth any time).
Operators are hoping that the third runway will improve the situation but it is unlikely to be in place until 2023. In order to obtain consent, the airport has been required to put even more limitation on operations, especially at night, to assuage the Hong Kong government’s environmental concerns.
Parker also pointed to Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre’s “monopoly” on business aviation at the airport, which proved expensive for Jet Aviation, its biggest competitor there Metrojet, and others. Only HKBAC is allowed to handle fuel, for example. There are also only certain parking stands around the airport where fuelling is permitted, which also causes headaches, said Parker. In addition he said “you can’t wash aircraft anywhere, only in three bays, and you can’t do engine runs or maintenance on the remote parking bays. Everything is difficult.”
Fortunately for Jet Aviation it has an amicable arrangement with the CASL (China Aircraft Services Limited) hangar over on the other side of the airport.
One feature of Chep Lap Kok that seemed strange was that, viewed either on Google Earth or from the cable car to Lantau Island, it is clear that there is very little space at HKBAC compared to that at the Hong Kong Government Flying Service, which has large hangars, a vast ramp, but only a couple of aircraft. Parker admitted that was frustrating but didn’t think it would change. He said that Chep Lap Kok simply doesn’t want business aviation, although he expressed satisfaction that it had recruited a senior manager from Luton Airport in the UK, who has experience of CAT and bizav operating together in a confined space.
Hong Kong is clearly crying out for a business aviation airport, but barring a another major land-reclamation project the only possible location seems to be at Shek Kong, a military airfield in the New Territories which became the home to Hong Kong Aviation Club after Kai Tak Airport (in Kowloon) closed. The HKAC still has its clubhouse at Kai Tak but the runway is now home to a giant modern cruise liner terminal, and a metro station is under construction. However HKAC’s clubhouse has enough apron left for helicopters to land. All its aircraft (Cessna 152s/172s/182 and two Robinson helicopters) are at Shek Kong.